Mine

Learning to talk is a big deal around here. My son is taking his time, gearing up to talk when he darn well pleases. His Daddy and I have no idea where he got his stubborn streak. Well, then.

I was told by my Parents as Teachers coach that he is in the "gray area" in the language department. (I haven't been worried about it since my sister popped off with "F--- the gray area; he's brilliant.") Ahem. So, how do you fret after that?

He did learn, with the assistance of his best buddy, Lola, how to say "mine" today. They have taken turns yelling "MINE!" at each other most of the morning. Let's see, they've fought over a tennis racket, a pacifier, a book and a piece of fuzz. I was rolling my eyes at how childish the toddlers were acting.

Then, they grabbed my beautiful iron candlesticks and started tugging.

In an emotional moment...without thinking.....I ran to save my candlesticks........I yelled......... to my everlasting shame...........

"MINE!"


I have joined the ranks of the emotionally immature:

Runs with Knives

This is a new nightly ritual:



It started because he grabbed a knife off the counter and went running while I was cooking. He is now banned from the kitchen and any potential disasters from those grabby hands of his.

Clearly, he doesn't appreciate it and has put in an order for a new Mommy STAT:



It's horrible, he can't even look at me:



Yes, it's this dramatic every night.

The Big Screw-Up

I thrive on organization.

So, imagine my shock, horror and denial when I was told that I had single-handedly booked 2 weddings at the same time. Seriously, I missed Wedding Planners 101 to make that kind of mistake.

One thing I do know about the wedding business: It is unforgivable to ruin a bride's day. Therefore, I immediately went into crisis mode: vomiting and Pentecostal praying.

After much negotiating, sweet-talking, um...begging and compromise we reach an acceptable conclusion that would involve 2 back-to-back weddings. Now, all I had to do was wait patiently, (obsess), until the big day arrived. Of course, I couldn't sleep. I would wake up at 2 in the morning and think about the flower orders or the beer kegs. There is also a distinct possibility that I got on the Lord's nerves with my panic prayers.

I expected people to laugh, tell me what a big mistake I'd made or ask me to reconsider being a business owner. Through that entire 4 weeks, what I didn't expect was grace. In my opinion, I did not deserve any grace for the screw-up of all wedding planner screw-ups. Yet, strangely, this is what was I got:

"It's okay, I'm sure I've done worse. I love you!"
"I can fly in and try to break-up one of the engagements!"
"You are the Chuck Norris of wedding planners!"
"I'll drive down and work for free to help you with the day."
"Every business owner makes mistakes. My nose bleeds daily. Take responsibility, fix it and move on."

I walked into the wedding this weekend, fueled and humbled by grace. Amazingly, the day was perfect. Our crew was flawless, our brides were happy, and there was leftover wine and cake.

Grace is a beautiful thing, indeed.

Cale and the Little Lady in His Life

This is Cale and Emma:



They have been buds since they were simultaneously kicking the crap out of me and Carolyn in the womb. They both entered the world, prepared with their own ideas about things and a determination not to let us sleep for about a year. It's okay, though. If I was having a bad day, I found comfort that Carolyn was, too. It's a twisted mommy thing I can't explain. And, I have issues.

Now that they are toddlers, I see a fine friendship forming. Please note that I did not say "a great love story" as neither one will be dating until they are out of college.




I will say, however, that she has taken over a few of my roles. I wasn't jealous, I was kind of giddy the first time she dumped a bucket of water on his head and went to scrubbing:



Surprisingly, he just sat there nicely and let her wash his hair. He doesn't even show me that kind of respect. Wait a minute, maybe I am a little jealous.

It's also important to her that he play with the toy she deems appropriate at the time, eats what she's eating, drinks all of his milk and doesn't hold up the line:


*To be fair, it was her birthday and he was kind of slow.

Yesirree, this little lady makes him walk the line. And......his hair always smells fabulous after she's gone.



I think all guys need a little Emma in their lives...

Safety Girl

I was the girl that did this:



Then, a few days ago, my son jumped out of his crib and gave himself a nice shiner. I screamed, my sister almost called 911, my husband came home early from work because of the trauma and......my son did it again the next day.

Now, I am the girl that does this:



*None of my beds or couches have cushions or pillows anymore. I am the official Nazi of Safety, my friends...

The Soothing Black Dress

The little dude and I had a bad day. There, I said it.

It's been a jumps out of his crib-wants to be held all day-screams when Mommy works on wedding stuff-escapes from timeout-hits Mommy in the face-acts like an angel when Daddy gets home- kind of day.

It's my blog, I'll tattle if I want to.

I loaded him and his attitude up for an evening trip to the mall. We had to get out of the house or risk a Queen vs. the Little Prince showdown.

As soon as I entered the mall, I found my zen. You know what's soothing? Beautiful black dresses from Black House White Market. I took one look at my lacy dream dress, (at the 'bargain price' of $198), and I felt the stress slide off my shoulders. I tried not to notice that he was not happy with my browsing.

We fell back in love at the end of the shopping trip.


This is the face of a little boy that is developing a will....

Mommy a Favorite? Not So Much....

I've been very disturbed by an ongoing issue with my son.

I don't think he likes me.

Yeah, I'm his favorite when we're home all day together, and he doesn't have any choices. You know, kind of like when you're hungry but the only thing you have in the fridge is an apple. So, you eat the apple but you really want a Twinkie? So, yeah, kind of like that.

I suffer silently when he runs to his Daddy and his Grandparents, and then shakes his head "no" if I want to hold him. I just sigh and accept it when he doesn't seem real excited to see me when I pick him up from Sunday School. He looks around, hoping his Daddy came with me.

The final straw came when we were having a meeting with our pastors and my son repeatedly hugged his Daddy then shrieked in agony when I tried to get a freaking hug. Awesome. Glad I decided to be a stay-at-home-mom.

I called my little sis the next day and cried that I was a good mommy and deserved some love. She was very quiet for a moment and then blurted, "Sara, he's probably just sick of you."

Once my ego recovered, I knew she was absolutely dead-on. How can he miss me if I never go away? I suppose a Mother's Day Out program would be a good idea. For both of us.


Me and my little guy? We're doing alright.